5/5 Rancors - Yoda: Dark Rendezvous began a little slowly, but picked up speed quickly and was a hugely enjoyable tale by the end. The Clone Wars appear to be slipping away from the Republic. Count Dooku has established a new headquarters in the Chateau Malreaux on the planet Vjun, a place of constant rain and gloom and an unusually heavy concentration of the Force. He is ably assisted in all of his nefarious dealings by the deadly assassin Asajj Ventress. His plan in the book is to lure Yoda to Vjun, kill him, and destroy the will of the Republic to keep fighting. As one might expect, Yoda is equal to the challenge.
Yoda is truly a unique character - 800 years old but with unmatched skills and knowledge of the force, so far anyway. Count Dooku describes Yoda as "small and old and shriveled up like an evil green potato," but he still calls him Master even as he launches into a fierce lightsaber attack. In this story Yoda has the opportunity to exhibit a range of emotions - humor as he leaves Coruscant hidden inside an R2 unit, anger when a droid who is supposed to serve him a disgusting meal tries to serve him more normal food, and compassion as he leads the two young Padawans Whie and Scout on the journey to Vjun. You can't help but delight in Yoda's actions. Obi-Wan and Anakin also become involved at various points in the tale, and their presence is always welcome. Much of the story is taken up by the influence of the dark side. Dooku has long been on that side, Padawan Whie is strongly tempted to turn through a variety of circumstances, and Yoda attempts to convince Dooku that he might even be interested in turning. All of this was entirely appropriate because we have reached a point in the Expanded Universe where we are very close to the Revenge of the Sith. We all know what happens very soon.
Do not miss Yoda: Dark Rendezvous.
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